Vania



(No Model.)

D. J. SIMPSON.

ELECTRIC COUPLING FOR HOSE PIPES. 1 No. 396,176. Patented Jan. 15,1889.

Wjlzvresges. Invewzor, 91/. gag, 1

71738 Mar-mayo.

NITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

DAVID J. SIMPSON, OF PITTSBURG, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO GEORGE O.

CORKEN AND HAVDON MARSHALL, OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYL- VANIA.

ELECTRIC COUPLING FOR HOSE-PIPES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 396,176, dated January 15, 1889.

Application filed April 16, 1888. Serial No. 270,833. (No model.)

To all when it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, DAVID J. SIMPSON, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Couplings for Hose-Pipes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of IQ this specification, and to the figures and letters of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to a new and improved electric coupling or circuit-closer, designed more especially for use in connection I 5 with the detachable coupling-sections com monly employed for uniting sections of hosepipe, and employed for automatically closing an electric circuit or circuits through the coupled hose-pipe, which circuit is or maybe employed for sending and receiving signals or operating electric devices of any desired character.

The principal object of my present invention is to so constructand organize the electric coupling and apply it to the section of the hose-eouplin g that the circuit wires or conductors carried by or attached to one section of hose will be automatically placed in electric contact with the circuit wire or wires of another section of hose in and by the act of coupling said hose-sections together. At the same time the insulation of the electric circuit thus formed will be preserved and maintained in and between the hose-couplings to prevent grounding or short-circuiting the line at that point.

To this end my said invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, hereinafter fully described,

and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation, partly in section, illustrating two coupling-sections with my improved electric coupling applied thereto. Fig. 2 is an end or face View of one coupling, and Fig.

3 is a similar view of the co-operating coupling.

Similar letters of reference in the several figures indicate the same parts.

The letters A and B designate the two cocoupled.

operating sections of a hose-coupling secured to the ends of the hose-sections in the usual. manner. The particular variety of coupling represented, and in connection with which my invention is illustrated, comprises the section 5 5 A, with threaded extension (1, and section B, carrying internally-t1ireaded collar Znmounted upon socket b, and adapted to rotate thereon in the usual manner. The end of hose-pipe O is inserted and secured within the rear or socket ends of. the two sections A B.

The coupling A B, as a means for connecting and disconnecting the ends of hose-pipe, is too well known to require more detailed explanation, and is referred to merely as illustrative of a type of hose-coupling such as may be employed in connection with my improvements, it. being understood that equivalent forms of couplings may be substituted for that shown.

The coupling-sections A B are, as usual, of metal. Each hose-section contains two or more insulated wires, D D, preferably interposed between and held in place between the layers composing the hose-pipe, said wires being conveniently inserted during the process of manufacturing the hose.

' The object in employing two conductors is to provide a return-wire, thus forming a complete metallic circuit through the hose.

One wire, I), is connected at opposite ends of each hose-section to the metallic couplings A B, so that when the coupling-section A of one length of hose is attached to section B of another length of hose, as by screwing the collar 1) upon the threaded extension (I, the wires D will be electrically connected toiform one line or branch of the circuit. The other or return-line is formed by connecting the wires D together, and to accomplish this and at the 0 same time preserve the necessary insulation the following arrangement is adopted: One of the coupling-sectionsA, for example is provided with a metallic. ring, 1, insulated from the metallic portion of the coupling and 5 forming the whole or portion of the ring-seat, against which the rubber gasket or other noncondueti n g packing bears for forming a Watertight joint between the sections A B when One end of the wire D is attached to this ring 1 and the other end to a metallic contact, 2, Pl'OjOOlTOd upon or over the face of the gasket or packing 3, held in the opposite section, l3, so that when the coupling-scctions A B are screwed together and the gasket or packing I) is grasped orclamped between them, as in forming the watertight joint, the contact 2 on one section will be pressed and held in electrical contact with the ring or contactpiece 1 on the opposite section, and as these contacts are insulated from the metallic coupling-sections the line through wires l) is completed and at the same time held electrically insulated from the line 1). It will thusbe seen that whenever the sections A and B are coupled and united to form a tight joint the electric contact necessary to effectually close the circuits tln'ough wires D D is simultaneously and automatically made. It will be observed, moreover, that as applied to the particular form of cm'lpling shown. another and further advantage is secured. It is well known that one of the most frequent causes of failure .in making a proper cireuit-conncction between electric conductors, especially such as are exposed to atmospheric and other influences, as in the present example, is the formation of a deposit upon the surface of low conducting capacity, so that when the conductors are brought together but an imperfect electrical connection is formed. In the present instance, however, this defective action is overcome or avoided by causing the contacts (in the one case the couplings themselves and in the other the ring 11 and contact 2) to move or rub more or less together, thereby destroying or removing sutiicient of the oxide or coating to insure a good electric contact.

Another and further improvement consists in the provision made for preventing shortcircuit-ing or grounding of the electric circuit through the water or other conducting material passing through the hose. It is well known that water, although a poorconductor of electricity, will nevmiheless serve to est ablish electric connection between metallic conductors; hence it the terminals or contacts '1 L of wires 1'), are exposed to the water-passing through and in contact with tlmmetallic portions of couplings A 15 a portion of the current passing through the circuit-wires I) I) will be short-circuited at that point.

Although the quantity of electricity passing from wire .l.) to wire l) at each coupling may be very small, when a large number ot' couplings are employed it will amount to considerable in the a gregate. l\l.oreover, the leakage thus ettected, although slight, is contin uous and will sutiice in time to exhaust or run down the battery, thereby seriously interfering with or preventing the use of the signalcircuit when most jrecpiircd. To overconn} this defective action and insure complete insulation of at least one of the circuit-wires in the couplings, (it being only 1190,8531? that one of the parallel wires should be insulated to prevent slun't-circuiting,) the insulation 5, supporting and carrying ring 1, is secured within or upon the end of the threaded extension (1 and extended up the inner face of the ring or conductor 1 flush, or nearly so, with the outer face of said comluctor. 'lhe coopcrating conductor or contz'rct 2, carried by couplil1gscction B, is passed through an insulated section, ti, insert cd within said coupling and passes thrmlgh an opening t'ormcd in the rubber gasket, the end of said contact 2 being bent down or extended laterally over the exposed t'ace ot the gasket. 'Whcn, now, the couplingsections A l are united and the gasket of rubber or other flexible non-cont'lucting nntterial is clamped between the ring-seats on the opposite sections, not only is the fluid prevented from escaping from the coupling at this point, but it islikewise prevented from coming in contact with the conductors 1 and 2, the one being embedded in the gasket and the other covered on the inside, at least, by the gasket overlapping or being pressed against the insulation 'lhe insulation,it will be seen, may be extcmled up on both the inner and outer sides ol. the ring, and so leave only the face exposed, which latter will be entirely covered by the gasket and all access of water thereto from any direction preventml.

By employing an annular conductor, 1, cooperating with one or more contacts, L, and uniting them through the gasket or packingring, the insulz'rted line l) is sure to be connected electrically whenever the coupling-scctions A l5 are united to form a water-tight joint, and no special litting or skill in manipulation is required to complete the (jalectric circuit, as this isaccom 'ilishcd automatically in the act oi coupling, as usually performed.

As is obvious, it is not essential that the annular contact 1 be atlixcd to the section A, entering section B, and the contact 2 locatml in the latter, as the relative positions maybe reversed.

Among the nunwrous advantages of my improved electric coupling is its simplicity and cllcctive action not alone in making the mnmections between the conductors, but in preserving the insulation and preventing short eircuiting or bleeding the battery. Morctwer, the electrical attachments are at all times accessible and can readily and quickly be applied and adapted to tlmordinary forms of hose-couplings now in use, as is well indicated in the drawings, the only manipulations retpiired to effect the attachment being the insertion ol? the insulating ring-bearing conductor within the mouth or open end of one section, A, and drilling a hole for the passage of the insulated wire T), and the drilling of a hole or insertion of an insulating-support for the stem of comlnctor 2 in section B.

The wires 1) are preferably protected by an insulatin g-eoverin g, besides bein further pro tccted by the material of which the hose is composed, said wires being introduced be tween layers or coatings ot the hose, so that IIS each wire is completely insulated and pro-- tected throughout its entire length.

If desired, instead of connecting the linewires D directly to the coupling-sections, they may be connected electrically in a manner similar to the linevires Dthat is to say, duplicate contacts 2, one for each line, may be provided for one section, 1), and the contact plate or ring 1 divided, the two sections insulated, and the wires D D each connected to one section, so that when. the coupling-sections are secured together one circuit-wire will be closed through contacts 1 and 2 and the other through contacts 1 and 2, as indicated by dotted lines Figs. 2 and Having thus described m y in ven tion, what I claim as new is 1. In combination with the sections A B of a coupling such as described, provided with ring-seats and an interposed non-conducting gasket, a contact-electrode carried by one section of the coupling and connected with the line through the gasket, and an opposing contact secured to the other section of the coupling in position to engage the first-mentioned contact when the gasket is clamped between its seats, said contacts and connecting-wires being insulated from the metallic couplings, substantially as described.

2. In combination with the detachable sections of a hose-coupling such as described, an insulated conductor or cont-act carried by one section and projected upon the face of the gasket interposed between and forming the water-tight joint, and an annular contact or conductor forming the ring-seat on the opposite coupling-sect-ion, said ring-seat being insulated from the coupling-sections with circuit-wires connected to each of said contacts, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In combination with the separable sections of a hose-coupling such as described, an electric contact mounted upon but insulated from one section of the coupling and projected through the non-conducting elastic gasket, and an opposing electric contact mounted upon but insulated from the co-operating section of the coupling and engaging the firstmentioned contact and the gasket to close the circuit and protect the joint, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In combination with the separable metallic sections of a hose-coupling such as described, provided with elamping devices and an elastic non-conducting gasket interposed between seats within the two sections, a linewire connected to the metallic sections of the couplings, and a second or return wire conn ected to contact plates or terminals insulated from and supported within the couplingsections, one of said contacts forming part of the gasket-seat on one section and theother opposing contact projecting upon the side of the gasket facing the opposite section, so that when said coupling-sections are united one line will be closed through the coupling and the other between the gasket and its seat, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In combination with the sections A B, the hose attached thereto and the insulated wires D I), forming parts of an electric circuit, the wire D, attached to and connected through the metallic sections A B, the insulating-support inserted in section A and provided with anniiilar contact 1, the gasket, and the contact 2, passing through said gasket, said contacts 1 and 2 being connected to wires D, insulated from the metallic coupling-sections, as and for the purpose set forth.

6. In a hose-coupling such as described, comprising separable sections A B, an interposed non-conducting gasket, and means for holding the two sections together and clamping them upon the gasket, a contact plate or ring, 1, insulated from but sectioned to one of said coupling-sectiol'is in line with the gasket and provided with an insulating lining or covering, a contact or conductor, 2, carried by the opposite coupling-section insulated from the latter and projected upon the exposed face of the gasket, said gasket co-o1')erating with the insulated lining of cont-act 1 to form a tight joint and exclude water or other liquid-conducting medium from contacts ly and 2, as set forth.

7. In a hosecoupling such as described, containing separable sections A B, the insulated ring bearing annular contact 1., inserted in section A, the wire I), passing through sec- 

